REAL LIFE NEWS: PRINT ME A PIZZA
by Hazed
From beer to pizza.
3D printers have been used with food to create interesting sculptures, but now NASA wants one that acts more like a food synthesizer. It's given a grant to a company to build a prototype.
The hope is that the gadget could create food for astronauts on long missions. Obviously the raw materials for the printer would have to be hauled on the trip, but it could take up less space than the pre-packaged meals currently used, as well as offering more scope for interesting combinations.
The inventor goes by the splendid name of Anjan Contractor. He explained, "Long distance space travel requires 15-plus years of shelf life. The way we are working on it is, all the carbs, proteins and macro and micro nutrients are in powder form. We take moisture out, and in that form it will last maybe 30 years."
Contractor has proved that his idea for a food printer works by printing out chocolate, and now he's working on a more advanced machine that will print out a pizza. It'll start by printing a sheet of dough, followed by a layer of tomato sauce, then topped off with a layer of protein - derived from animals, milk or plants. Doesn't sound very appetizing when you describe it like that!
It's a long way from the Star Trek replicator but it's still a fascinating project.
http://www.space.com/21250-nasa-3d-food-printer-pizza.html?cmpid=514630
